Massive software flaw with global reach forces Quebec to shut government websites

MONTREAL — Quebec says it is shutting down almost 4,000 government websites as a preventative measure following threats of a cyberattack.

Minister of Digital Transformation Éric Caire held a press conference today in Quebec City, announcing the decision to shut all the province’s official websites until further notice. 

The closure comes on the heels of a recently discovered software vulnerability in a Java-based library of an Apache product, which the Department of National Defence says could affect thousands of organizations worldwide. 

Caire says the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, used widely around the world, has assessed the current threat at a 10 out of 10.